Joss Stone: 'Colour Me Free!'

On last week's episode of The Xtra Factor, Joss Stone claimed - nay, insisted - that image plays no part in a pop wannabe's eventual success. Her hypothesis in full: "It doesn't make a difference, so who cares? It's about the music. It's a show about music, right? You sure? Are we all clear? OK then. Cool." It made you wonder not only whether Stone had ever watched The X Factor - turns out she hadn't, for the record, and she's since revised her opinion somewhat - but whether she had any inkling why her own career torpedoed in the UK. Music had nothing to do with it. Rocking up at the Brits sporting bright purple hair, a dress made out of a psychedelic 1970s dishcloth and a newly-acquired American accent did.

This lack of self-awareness crops up several times on Colour Me Free! - not least in that horrible album title. Stone ends the first track by ad-libbing "Free me EMI!", an unashamed plea to the label who've held back this "insufficiently commercial" record since January 2008. Later she makes an ill-advised foray into politics on a song called 'Governmentalist', a vague, vapid affair which finds Nas rapping perhaps the least convincing couplet of the year: "Governmentalists killed the Kennedys / I hear that Joss Stone's got the remedy." And then there's 'Mr Wankerman', a song about exactly what you think it's about stretched out to an eyeball-scratching 13 minutes. It finally ends with Stone saying, "You're such a t**t". If you've stuck with it for that long, she may as well be talking to you.

However, it's a testament to Stone's innate talent that, in spite of these cringe-inducing moments, Colour Me Free! is no disaster. It's actually a decent summery soul-pop record, albeit one that would have benefited from increased focus and some judicious slicing. Though the majority of the album was recorded in a week, it sounds more relaxed than rough-round-the-edges, with lashings of brass and strings when necessary and a slew of prestigious guest cameos: Jeff Beck, Sheila E and Raphael Saadiq included. Standout moments include 'Could Have Been You', a lovely slice of girl-groupy melodrama, and '4 and 20', a jazzy shuffle that contains echoes of Dorothy Moore's 'Misty Blue'. Best of all is 'Stalemate', a duet with Jamie Hartman that already sounds like a classic.

But even when the songs are less memorable, and especially when they're a little too long, Stone's vocals are strong enough to hold your attention. There's the occasional bit of sloppy Mid-Atlantic intonation - "attitude" comes out as "attitoo", "hot" becomes "how" - but mostly she just sounds fabulous, conveying everything from lust on 'Lady' to anger on 'Incredible'. Stone probably should be released from her label after the difficulty she's had getting this far from terrible album into the shops. However, Colour Me Free! suggests it isn't freedom that she needs now - it's a bit of guidance.


> Click here to read our recent interview with Joss Stone